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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 18, 2018)
REGION Wednesday, July 18, 2018 East Oregonian Christopher gets 29 years for sex abuse, rape Christopher’s trial was July 9-10, and the state at the start dropped all but nine counts — Umatilla County jurors last week five of first-degree sexual abuse convicted a former Milton-Freewa- and four of first-degree rape. The ter man of raping his stepdaughter remaining charges related to the for years. one victim who came to Pendleton Now Kenneth Eugene Chris- to take the witness stand. topher, 49, will serve almost three She is 22 now, according to a decades in prison for his crimes. sentencing memo from prosecu- Christopher tor Jaclyn Jenkins, and testified she Christopher pleaded not guilty to 30 counts of sex crimes, including four of was 13 the first time Christopher molested her first-degree rape, five of first-degree sexual and 14 the first time he raped her. She told abuse and four of first-degree sodomy. The the jury she did not believe she could say no district attorney’s office accused Christopher to Christopher because he was violent and of molesting and sexually assaulting two vic- threatened to harm her animals and tear apart tims, according to court records, in 2009 and the family. 2010 in Milton-Freewater. From then and until she was 19, according By PHIL WRIGHT East Oregonian to Jenkins’ memo, Christopher “had persistent and consistent sexual contact” with the girl. Christopher on July 10 sought to move the case, court documents show, arguing he could not get a fair trial in Umatilla County. The jury that same day found Christopher guilty on all nine counts. First-degree rape in Oregon carries a man- datory minimum sentence of eight years, four months, and first-degree sexual abuse car- ries a mandatory minimum of six years, three months. Jenkins in the memo asked the court to put Christopher in state prison for a total of 45 years, 10 months. Circuit Judge Jon Lieuallen, according to court documents, found Christopher deserv- ing of a little more than 29 years. Lieuallen handed down the sentence Friday. MILTON-FREEWATER Blues and brews on tap this weekend By TAMMY MALGESINI East Oregonian Craft beers and cider tasting, as well as musical entertainment, are featured during the fourth annual Brews by the Blues Fes- tival in Milton-Freewater. The event is tapped to start Friday from 5-10 p.m. at the Milton-Freewater Jr. Show Grounds, 84575 Highway 11, located behind Bordertown Feed & Supply. The activities continue Saturday from 2-10 p.m. Entry fees are $25 per day, which includes a beer glass and five drink tokens. Also, it’s $10 for non-drinkers and free for kids under 13 years old. All tickets are sold at the gate. More than a dozen breweries and a handful of cideries hailing from Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, Austria and Bel- gium are represented and will be pouring during the festival. In addition, there will be vendors and food trucks on hand. Be sure to pick up an event T-shirt. Friday night music features Joker and Contributed photo Stompin’ Ground. Saturday entertain- ment includes Diego & the Detonators. The Brew Barn offers people a place to mingle during a past Brews by the Blues A recent McLoughlin High School grad- Festival. In its fourth year, the event is Friday and Saturday at the Milton-Freewa- uate, Diego Romero has played solo at ter Jr. Show Grounds. the last two brew festivals. He’s return- Grounds for those attending Brews by Brewing Company, Base Camp Brewery, ing this year with a band to perform on the Blues. Recreational vehicle hook- Wild Ride Brewery, Barley Brown’s Beer, the big stage. Also taking the stage are ups are $50 for one night or $80 for two. Iron Horse Brewery and Ciderboys Hard Gary Winston & the Real Deal, Nerve Tent camping is $20. Due to limited Cider. Ctr, and the Saturday night headliner is space, reservations are required by calling For more information about the Brews Badlandz, a classic rock band form the 541-861-1208. by the Blues Festival, contact 541-938- Tri-Cities. Those confirmed for the event include 5563, mfchamber@mfchamber.com Also, the festival features a corn hole Dragon’s Gate Brewery, Blue Mountain or visit www.facebook.com/brewsby- tournament. It runs Saturday from 3-9 p.m. Cider Company, The Prodigal Son Brew- theblues. For information about volun- The team entry fee is $20. Winners will ery & Pub, Ordnance Brewing, Wolf Tree teer opportunities, which includes free receive cash prizes and bragging rights. Brewery, 2 Kilts Brewing Co., Grixen entry and festival swag, send an email to For more about the corn hole tournament, Brewing Company, Side A Brewing, Free- amber@vbowles.com. contact Lora Zink at 509-386-6619 or water Cider Co., D’s Wicked Cider, Stiegel zinkl@bakerboyer.com. Brauerei, Huyghe Brewery, Bruery Maple, Camping is available at the Jr. Show AleSmith Brewing Company, Riverbend Page 3A PENDLETON Chamber hires executive director with tourism past By BRITTANY NORTON East Oregonian The Pendleton Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday that it hired a new exec- utive director. Janet Duffy Murphy will join the chamber in August from Laughlin, Nevada. According to the cham- ber, Duffy Murphy has more than 18 years of experience in chambers of commerce and eco- nomic development orga- nizations in Montana and Nevada. Duffy Murphy She served as vice pres- ident of the chamber of commerce in Great Falls, Montana, from 2002 to 2006, where she worked in tourism promotion, and was awarded Tourism Partnership of the Year by the governor in 2005. Later, she served as the executive director at the Laughlin, Nevada, Chamber of Commerce from 2006 to 2011 doing business develop- ment and workforce recruitment. Duffy Murphy said she became involved in those organizations because “believed in the values of chambers.” She was a chamber member when she owned her own business, and when her public relations firm was con- tracted to do work for the Great Falls Chamber of Commerce, she agreed to stay on for a year to implement the strategies her firm suggested. When the year was up, she continued to work with the chamber and assumed the vice presi- dent role. “It became clear that I had an affinity for it,” she said. “I found my niche.” As for her goals in Pendleton, Duffy Murphy said she is looking forward to getting to know the community and then moving forward. “The board drives the chamber, and my job is to lead that vision,” she said. The Pendleton Chamber of Commerce has been searching for someone to permanently fill the executive director position since the beginning of the year, when Gail Nelson left for a job with Umatilla County. According to interim executive director Chuck Wood, the recruitment process included a national search. Wood will stay on the chamber board as Duffy Murphy transitions into her new posi- tion, but then will later return to his retirement. Wood said Duffy Murphy stood out among candidates because of her past experience, and “she fit in well with the goals and ambitions at the chamber of commerce.” SUPPORT FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS Sheriff’s office recovers property, seeks theft suspect PENDLETON — The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office remains on the look- out for a theft suspect after recovering stolen vehicles and more. The sheriff’s office in a written statement reported detective Loren Westmo- reland on July 11 received a tip regarding several sto- len vehicles at a prop- erty on Echols Road near Hermiston. “Detectives went to the location,” according to the sheriff’s office, “and saw some of the stolen vehicles.” The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for the property, according to the statement, and recov- ered two Chevrolet pickups, a John Deere front loader, a dump trailer, copper wire and much more. But suspect Zachary Lawrence Bartz, 25, was not at the location and remains at-large. State court records show Bartz has convictions from 2011 through 2014 for vehicle theft, fleeing police, theft, burglary and more. Sheriff’s investigators questioned two other indi- viduals at the scene and released them. The sheriff’s office now is asking for the public’s help and would like anyone with information on the case or the whereabouts of Bartz to call the agency at 541-966-3651. 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